Synopsis
Popeye has a nightmare in which his “no-good Pappy” is in mortal danger. Convinced thatthis is actually the case, he scuppers land-locked plans for Christmas with Olive Oyl in order tosearch for Pappy. Off the whole gang goes on the search: Olive, Swee’ pea, Bluto (as firstmate???) and Whimpy.
I’ll give this points for trying, and the animated does have a fluidity lacking in theaccompanying cartoons (about which more below). But Popeye looks odd in three dimensions,…and the quality of the computer animation itself is not much above a video game, which wouldn’tbe a problem if this WERE a video game, but it’s not. The image is extremely sharp.
Audio
The sound comes in both 5.1 and 2.0 versions, and the level of the 5.1 could certainly behigher. The audio quality is extremely clear, and there is no distortion, but the surround elementsare almost entirely limited to the music (which, admittedly, is pretty constant).
Video
The colours are sumptuous, and there is no grain or edge enhancement whatsoever. Thisshouldn’t be a surprise — in fact, given that this is an animated feature, the opposite would havebeen surprising. Still, it looks great. The fullscreen format is obviously the original aspectratio.
Special Features
There are four cartoons provided here, but they are not exactly the “classics” promised. Theyare not the Fleischer cartoons from the 30s. Rather, they are the King Features ones from the 60s.The animation is stiff, and the violence is off-screen. Their reason for being seems to be to makethe main feature look better by comparison. There are “behind-the-scenes interviews” withPopeye, Olive and Swee’ pea (amusing, I guess, for the very easily amused), and a promotionalmaking-of featurette (ten minutes long). There is also a deleted scene. The trailer gallery consistsof the trailer for the feature and a Care Bears release (shudder). The menu is fully animated andscored.
Closing Thoughts
I have mixed feelings about this disc. Picture and sound quality are good, and its heart seemsto be in the right place, though the final result is rather off-putting.
Special Features List
- 4 Cartoons
- Animated Behind-the-Scenes Interviews
- Making-of Featurette
- Trailers
